A company based in Massachusetts called Zink thinks they have the answer. Forget about ink altogether and use special paper instead. The Zink system involves embedding minute dye crystals in an extraordinary type of paper and activating them using a special printer head. These tiny ink particles embedded in sheets of paper are melted by a printer head that sends out small heat pulses. Depending on the pulses sent different crystals will melt resulting in different visible colours on the page.



Thermal printing is of course nothing new with large numbers of cheap black and white thermal printers sold in the eighties and nineties. But colour thermal printing is a totally different story. The Zink paper itself is a composite with layers of yellow, magenta and cyan dye crystals embedded in side a polymer overcoat. Whilst the unprocessed paper looks white a thermal device can activate the embedded ink and transform it to a picture.

The Zink or Zero Ink technology is a highly complex process protected by over 100 patents. Will initially be used in portable printing solutions and potentially integrated into cameras, taking the photography business full circle to the days of the launch of Polaroid instant printing.

Zink itself has no plans to enter the printer market we are told, preferring to licence the technology to established businesses in that sector. The first company to start using Zink's Zero Ink process commercially is Polaroid with the release of the PoGo portable printer. The PoGo printer is 3cm by 8cm, approximately the size of a pack of cards and can print a picture in less than 60 seconds which is faster than traditional Polaroid pictures and the image is produced dry to the touch. Images are sent to the PoGo either via USB or Bluetooth from a compatible device such as a PC, certain cameras and mobile phones. Many critics have described the printing quality as average to poor and a big drawback highlighted has been the lack of compatibility with the Apple iPhone. It is however quite an achievement for a first attempt with a totally new technology.

The question now is, will Zink Zero Ink printing catch on or is it a short lived overly complex solution. It's very early days to make any judgements, and Zink is in the process of finding more partners to implement its unique solution. As the technology makes really small portable printing possible it does have a significant advantage over its ink cartridge using competitors, however the limited quality of Polaroid's PoGo dose raise questions. When it comes to the traditional printer market the issue will boil down to two things. Are people attached to the idea of buying and using standard paper that they can print with or write on as required and will the cost of the Zink paper prove cheaper than using standard paper and ink cartridges.